The sound comes first. It begins as a faint rumble, gradually increasing in intensity, and then the monobob sled with Maja Voigt as the sole passenger comes hurtling through the ice channel at Cortina Sliding Centre at 120 kilometers per hour.

The young Dane is speeding through her Olympic debut – so much so that, to her own surprise, she is the ninth fastest after two runs on the icy track perched high above the Olympic village, nestled between a series of Toblerone-like mountain peaks.